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Dionysus
Dionysus '''is the Greek god of grape-harvest, wine, madness, parties, and ecstasy as well as theater. He is also known as '''Mr. D, the camp director of Camp Half-Blood. He was placed as the director by his father Zeus as punishment for chasing after an off-limits nymph. After the decree that Olympus would be closed and that gods would have no contact with their demigod child, he was recalled to Olympus. His Roman counterpart is Bacchus. Dionysus is portrayed by Luke Camilleri History: Dionysus was often called the 'twice born' because of the two myths around his birth. The most common is that his mother was a mortal woman named Semele, who was a daughter of the King of Thebes, and his father was Zeus. This makes him the only Olympian to have a mortal parent, and according to some traditions the only one to have been born a demigod. As with most of Zeus' acts of infidelity, Hera became jealous when she found out that Semele was pregnant with Zeus' child. She disguised herself as a nurse (or old crone in some stories) and made Semele begin to doubt that it was truly Zeus. While in disguise; Hera convinced Semele to ask Zeus to reveal his true form and, to make sure that he would do it, to swear on the River Styx, which is sacred to the Greek Gods and an unbreakable oath. Zeus tried to get around the promise, but in the end swore on the River Styx, and Semele asked to see his true form. Unable to go back on the promise, he did so, and she was burned to ashes. Zeus managed to save the infant, sewing him into his thigh until he was born a few months later as a full grown baby on Mount Pramnos in Ikaria. He was born a demigod, like Hercules andPerseus. In his early life Zeus sent Dionysus off with Hermes.There are two versions of the story. In one version, Hermes took Dionysus to King Athamas and his wife Ino, who was Dionysus' Aunt. Hermes had them raise Dionysus as a girl to hide him from Hera's scorn. The second story is that the boy was taken to the rain nymphs of Nysa. They raised him through infancy and childhood, and in reward for their care, Zeus placed them as the Hyades in the stars. When he grew up, he discovered the vine, and extracted the juice. He was struck with madness by Hera at this point, and ended up wandering various parts of the world. Rhea cured him, and taught him her religious rites, and he wandered through Asia teaching about cultivating the vine. He was very handsome as a young man, eager for challenges. Dionysus later said he was good at nothing in his human life but cultivating wine. The people in his village mocked him, not knowing of his heritage, his father, or knowing his future, and what he would one day become. Later, when Dionysus was invited to Mount Olympus, it was Hestia who graciously offered him her golden chair to prevent any conflict or embarrassment. Hestia was a goddess known for her warmth and kindness. Dionysus then rescued his mother from Hades, and she became a goddess on Mount Olympus, with the new name Thyone, presiding over the frenzy inspired by her son Dionysus. When Theseusabandoned Ariadne sleeping on Naxos, Dionysus found and married her. When she died, he went to the Underworld and rescued her, taking her up to Mount Olympus, where he made her immortal. He was disguised as a mortal on the seashore once, and a few sailors spotted him. They thought he was a prince, and tried to kidnap him and hold him for ransom or to sell into slavery. They tried to tie his hands behind his back, but no ropes would hold him to the pole. Some ideas are that the material they were made of then was similar to the vines, and would refuse to hold him. At this point Dionysus turned into a lion and let a bear loose on board. It killed those it came in contact with, and those who jumped off the ship were turned into dolphins as an act of mercy. The only one to survive was the helmsman Acoetes, who had recognized him as a god, and tried to stop his comrades from the beginning. Camp Half-Blood After chasing after an off-limits wood nymph twice, Zeus punished him by putting him in charge of Camp Half-Blood for 100 years. During this time, he is not allowed to drink wine (so instead drinks several liters of Diet Coke) or grow grapes for wine, even though he does use his powers on other plants such as strawberries which helps with Camp Half Blood's expenses as their cover name is Delphi Strawberry Service. It is hinted that the first time he did use his powers on grape vines, his punishment caused the Prohibition era. After The Last Olympian, Zeus decides to make Dionysus work at Camp Half-Blood for only fifty more years, as a reward for his good behavior and bravery. He appears to have the fewest demigod children out of all the gods, not including the Big Three or the virgin goddesses - only having two sons, his twins, Pollux & Castor - possibly due to his hatred of heroes or his strong dedication to his immortal wife Ariadne on Olympus. He does care for his sons, as proven in The Battle of the Labyrinth and in The Last Olympian when he is shown being depressed after the death of his son, Castor, and afterwards becomes discreetly protective of his only remaining child, Pollux. Personality At first glance, Dionysus seems like a rather displeasing god. He enjoys calling people by incorrect names, especially Percy Jackson, whom he often calls "Peter Johnson" and "Perry Johanssen". He sometimes does this with campers who have been at camp for a long time, such as Annabeth Chase who he calls "Annie Bell" right after she was captured. He often does this to make the campers think that he cares so little for them, that he will make no effort to remember their names. He even refuses to acknowledge when he calls them by their correct names. This is also because he hates almost all heroes. His hatred for heroes stems back to how Theseus abandoned Ariadne, and thus is why he has the fewest shown demigod children among the major gods. Dionysus doesn't like to be known as 'the wine dude". The first time is when Nico called him that after the orientation video. Dionysus is not pleased but tones down his anger when Nico starts complimenting him in his excitement. The second time this happens is when Dionysus catches Percy as he chases after Zoe, Thalia, Grover and Bianca. Blackjack yells "God alert, it's the wine dude" and Dionysus becomes exasperated and threatens to stick the next person (or horse) who calls him that in a bottle of Merlot. He can also be quite unforgivable, as Chiron claimed that Dionysus viciously punished Seymor's previous owner for what he did to the animal, to the point that Seymor's current status (a discorporial head) is much better than the mortal's own. However, despite the impression he tries to give, deep down, Dionysus cares about his campers quite a bit. For example, while Dionysus stresses the fact that he cares little for the campers (except his own sons, Castor and Pollux) he dislikes Tantalus due to his demeaning attitude and for treating the campers badly (even though he himself is generally disrespectful towards them), he finds humor in his attempts to grab food and is also happy to send him back to the Fields of Punishment. He is no kinder to Chiron, but never threatens him like he threatens the campers, and even admits he misses him during Chiron's exile from Camp Half-Blood (as he was fired by the gods). Dionysus is also willing to send help using his godly powers when a camper is in danger and desperately needs help. For example, in The Titan's Curse, when the manticore was attacking Percy Jackson, Thalia, and their friends, he used grape vines to kill the manticore, Dr. Thorn, and caused several to descend into madness, saving Percy's life. Also, despite his rude demeanor, he tells Percy he is one of the nicest gods, as he had cured Chris Rodriguez from his madness when he came back out of the Labyrinth, in spite of having previously betrayed them. Both actions proved that he's much more selfless than he appears to be. In stark contrast to his gruffness and bitterness, Dionysus has been known to enjoy parties (likely because he is thegod of festivals where there is wine). However, this is mostly because he hates being at Camp Half-Blood, so he is usually in a bad mood. Appearance Dionysus has a chubby face, a red nose and curly hair so black, it looks purple. He normally has watery, blue, bloodshot eyes from drinking. He is usually described as wearing tiger-striped (or leopard-spot) Hawaiian shirts and purple running shoes. He is described by Percy as a cherub who had grown up in a trailer park. Anyone can tell he's no stranger to wine just by looking at him. However, this might not be his true appearance, since in Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, he is described as incredibly handsome (more so than a mortal man). During his conquest of India, Dionysus rode in a golden charriot pulled by two centaurs. Abilities As a son of Zeus, Dionysus is a very powerful god. * Prowess in Battle: Dionysus is known to have fought bravely in the first Gigantomachy, helping Herculestake down Otis and Ephialtes, and also taking down Clytius together with Hercules and Hecate. Dionysus also participated in the Olympians' massive battle with Typhon in The Last Olympian, though he was defeated and smashed deep into a mountain. * Chlorokinesis: Dionysus can grow, control, and summon plants, but he prefers grape and strawberry vines. ** He can bind and suffocate his enemies with grape vines, shown when he killed Dr. Thorn and when he trapped Percy and Blackjack in The Titan's Curse. * Madness: As the god of madness, Dionysus is able to both induce and cure it. ** He can induce madness, shown in Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, when he instantly drove King Lycurgus insane, and in The Titan's Curse, when Dionysus did the same to Dr. Thorn's minions. ** He can cure madness, shown when he quickly cured Chris Rodriguez, whom not even nectar and ambrosia could cure. * Alcokinesis: As the god of wine, Dionysus can manipulate alcohol. However, in the first series he is not allowed to partake in alcohol, and has not shown using this ability. ** He can transform people and objects into anything wine related, as he threatened to do with Percy and Blackjack in The Titan's Curse. ** He can turn people into animals. This happened when he was kidnapped by pirates by mistake and he turned them into dolphins. ** He can conjure any kind of drink, but generally only create cans of Diet Coke due to his prohibition to drink any kind of alcoholic beverage. ** He is immune to the effects of alcohol. * Partying: Dionysus can appear anywhere a party is held. According to Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, his parties are wild and infamous. * Maenad Curse: Despite the fact that Dionysus despises the Maenads, he will curse anybody who either hurts or kills a single one of them. * As King Midas mentions in The Lost Hero, Dionysus was able to give him his Golden Touch. Attributes Dionysus' attributes are his Thyrsus, his silver goblet (which he brought back from his conquest of India), as well as grape vines. His sacred animals are the leopard, goat, and donkey. Dionysus is also the patron god of theater. Children Immortal Children * Hymenaeus * Thoas * Oenopion * Staphylus * Peparethus * Comus * Iacchus * Phthonus Greek Demigods * Pollux * Castor (deceased) Romance Ariadne Dionysus has a good relationship with Ariadne. When Theseus abandoned her on an island, Dionysus found her and made Ariadne his immortal wife on Olympus when she died. This is one of the reasons why he hates heroes so much. When he and Ariadne appeared at the Olympian party near the end of The Titan's Curse, Dionysus appeared happier than he usually was at Camp Half-Blood. Family Pollux and Castor Dionysus has two sons, one of which he lost during the Battle of the Labyrinth. His seeming indifference suggested that Dionysus disliked demigods, but he surprised Percy in The Last Olympian, when he asked the demigod to look over his remaining son, Pollux, suggesting that Dionysus indeed cares for his children. He was obviously affected by Castor's death, being very depressed, and Percy stated that it looked like he was suffering more from grief than alcohol withdrawal at the time. Zeus Dionysus seems to hold father in high esteem, and works with him when the Titans or the Giants threaten to destroy Olympus. Dionysus also joined forces with Zeus to fight off Typhon in The Last Olympian. Other Relationships Percy Jackson Dionysus doesn't like Percy Jackson because he's a hero, and a son of Poseidon, like Theseus, and he has no love for heroes. He is often irritated by Percy, and he votes for Percy to die at the Olympian Council, during''The Titan's Curse''. However, he seems to show him more respect later on in the books, shown by the fact that he offers him his advice more often than to any other hero. By The Last Olympian, Dionysus even trusts Percy to look out for Pollux, his remaining demigod son. Even as Bacchus, their relationship is very like their relationship as Greeks. Also it is seen that Bacchus is giving Percy advice, help and eventually telling him that his future is not happy. Chiron He has a good relationship with Chiron and they enjoy playing pinochle together, though he sometimes accuses Chiron of cheating because he always loses. Dionysus also admits to missing Chiron during the centaur's exile in The Sea of Monsters. Annabeth Chase Dionysus does not have a good relationship with Annabeth. As with Percy, he calls her the wrong name out of disrespect. He does not seem to care about her fate when she is kidnapped during The Titans Curse. History: * Bacchus, a white wine grape, was named after his Roman counterpart. * Dionysus is the youngest of the major Olympians. * Dionysus received his Olympian throne in the Hall of the Gods from Hestia, who willingly gave it up to him. * His mother Semele was a demigod daughter of Harmonia (daughter of Ares and Aphrodite), making him a legacy of Harmonia. This would also make Aphrodite his great-grandmother and Ares his great-grandfather. * Dionysus hates heroes, despite the fact that he himself was one, and his grandfather, Cadmus was one of the first great heroes along with Perseus and Bellerophon. * Dionysus dislikes heroes/demigods even though he is born a demigod and says his problem stems from Theseus abandoning Ariadne on an island, only for him to find her, heart-broken, and marrying her after they fell in love. Some versions of the story say he fell in love with Ariadne while she was on the ship and forced Theseus to abandon her. * He is the only major Olympian to be born to a god and a mortal, making him an immortal demigod. * All his demigod children are known only by their first names. * He has one (alive) demigod child at Camp Half Blood and one more in Camp Jupiter. * Dionysus was originated in Thrace. * Dionysus shares the same line as Professor Severus Snape in the Harry Potter Series: "Well if it isn't our new celebrity". Interestingly, both Dionysus and Professor Snape dislike the main characters (Percy Jackson and Harry Potter correspondingly), albeit for very different reasons. * Dionysia is a large festival named after Dionysus, that celebrates the cultivation of vines. * Dionysus is the first god Percy meets personally. * Dionysus is one of only two Olympians that does not use a chariot (the other being Hephaestus)